AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-138

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites

The news feed on http://www amsat org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat org

In this edition:

• ARISS to the MAX
• The LituanicaSAT-1 team operational during the weekend of May 17-18
• Island of Miquelon Activation on Satellites: July 5-15 FP/KV1J
• From Holiday Inn to Outer Space
• FUNcube-1 AO-73 satellite SSB signal test
• BBC: ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality
• 2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships
• NASA History Program Office Fall 2014 Internships
• ARISS News
• Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-138 01 ANS-138 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 138 01 From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD DATE May 18, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-138 01

ARISS to the MAX

Gary Pearce out does himself in his coverage of ARISS school contact with Dixon Elementary School held April 21, 2014 Episode 144 of Ham Radio Now, titled, ARISS to The Max, was published May 14 The episode is broken into four parts as he covers several aspects of the ARISs contact and ends with a bonus of a 1992 Sarex Contact

Each part is viewable now on YouTube

Part One ARISS to the MAX - the CONTACT! https://www youtube com/watch?v=b8924SJIHIE

Part Two Part TWO - ARISS to the MAX - the Students, the Teachers and the Ham https://www youtube com/watch?v=GvRoRIlGpac

Part Three - PIOs and the Media https://www youtube com/watch?v=OOpOowrAD-w

Part Four - A 1992 SAREX Contact https://www youtube com/watch?v=XooamG-mtS0

[ANS thanks HamRadioNow and Amateur radio News for the above information]

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The LituanicaSAT-1 team operational during the weekend of May 17-18, 2014

Laurynas Maciulis LY1LM, LY5N reported that A long term testing of LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder began May 17, 04:30 UT The transponder will remain active for the whole weekend provided that battery voltage does not reach unsafe levels As always your reports are very welcome Please send them and any questions you may have to ly5n (at) qrz (dot) lt

Frequency is approximately 435 1755 MHz (+/- 10 kHz Doppler shift) for the downlink and 145 950 MHz for the uplink with 67 Hz CTCSS

The tiny satellite is just 10x10x10 cm with a mass of 1 090 kg yet it has a VGA camera and a 145/435 MHz FM voice transponder, designed and built by Lithuanian radio amateurs

The prototype of the FM repeater has been operating in the home of its designer Žilvinas Batisa LY3H in Elektrenai, Lithuania Further information at http://ly3h epalete com/?p=303

FM transponder operating techniques http://www dk3wn info/p/?p=44412

LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat http://amsat-uk org/2014/02/27/lituanicasat-1- cubesat/

[ANS thanks Laurynas LY1LM, LY5N and AMSAT-UK for the above information]

[ANS thanks for the above information]

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Island of Miquelon Activation on Satellites: July 5-15 FP/KV1J

Previously, from FP-land, I have been on the FM sats mostly AO-51 when it was alive Last year it was tough on SO-50 and I did not log very many Qs So I decided to take the plunge and try the analog sats My challenge up there is that I am outside and the WX is often bad Also I did not want to risk my primary laptop by taking it outside I have an FT-817 and an Arrow 2m/70cm antenna already

I configured a netbook and built one of WA8SME’s PIC chip CAT controllers I got it all working on the bench over the winter but have been waiting for the New England winter to finally break I have access to a second FT-817 when I am on the island so I borrowed one here to first try it with two radios The one radio configuration with the PIC controlled will be the backup I have been monitoring this list and picked up some helpful tips

I listened during the past week to a couple passes of several birds Today there was a nice high pass for AO-07 so I gave it a go I could not hear myself come back but down the band I heard N8HM nice and strong So I gave him a call and presto! I could hear myself calling him We had a good contact although I was busy fiddling the RIT

I’ll get on some more and get more proficient Thanks Paul for the icebreaker!

I’ll be on the island of Miquelon this July 5-15 from grid GN17 I am sometimes, but rarely in grid GN16 I cannot do schedules since I am primarily on HF or involved in other activities on the island I get on the sats when the WX is good, there is a reasonable good altitude and I have a break from my other activities More information is at - http://www kv1j com/fp/July14 html

[ANS thanks Eric KV1J FP/KV1J for the above information]

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From Holiday Inn to Outer Space

On Friday, July 4, the Whitton Amateur Radio Group (WARG) will be hosting a presentation by David Bowman G0MRF on the subject of the FUNcube satellite

David is a member of the AMSAT-UK team behind the successful development and launch of the amateur radio FUNcube-1 CubeSat which transmits telemetry for Educational outreach (STEM) and carries a 435/145MHz SSB/CW transponder The presentation will have a live reception of the satellite as it passes over Europe

The meeting is open to all, the doors open at 7 pm and the talk commences at 8:15 pm Whitton Community Centre has good car parking and disabled access as well as the use of the bar A small charge of £1 50 per person will be asked to cover room hire

The venue is the Whitton Community Centre, Percy Road, Whitton, Middx, TW2 6JL

Directions can be found on the Whitton Amateur Radio Group site http://www warg info/

[ANS thanks the Whitton Amateur Radio Group (WARG) and AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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FUNcube-1 AO-73 satellite SSB signal test

A resent video shows Simon 2E0HTS carrying out a signal test on the FUNcube-1 AO-73 CubeSat, he gets a good signal back from the satellite

During weekday daylight hours the satellite is in Educational Mode transmitting a strong telemetry signal with science data for schools to receive On Weekday evenings, when the satellite is in darkness, and throughout the weekend the FUNcube SSB/CW transponder is activated SSB contacts can be made with as little as 5 watts

To minimize Doppler shift the satellite uses what is known as an Inverting Transponder, this means you transmit lower sideband (LSB) in the 435 MHz band and receives upper sideband (USB) in 145 MHz

Watch Ham Radio - FUNcube AO 73 signal check https://www youtube com/watch?v=oEcwgTPZmwk

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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BBC: ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality

On Thursday, May 15, the BBC Radio 4 Today show featured an item on the recently launched 437 MHz Sprite satellites and the new Pocket Spacecraft being developed by a UK radio amateur

UK radio amateur Michael Johnson M0MJJ has developed Pocket Spacecraft known as ‘Scouts’ A ‘Scout’ is a wafer thin disk with flexible electronics, smaller than a CD, containing a transceiver, antenna and solar cells It is hoped to carry them in a CubeSat which would deploy them in Lunar orbit It is understood that frequencies in the 435 MHz and 2400 MHz bands may be used

Listen to the BBC Radio 4 clip ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality in which BBC Click’s Spencer Kelly discusses the development of pocket spacecrafts http://www bbc co uk/programmes/p01z4q22

It is expected that Pocket Spacecraft will feature in the BBC TV technology show ‘Click’ due to be released online on Saturday, May 17 at http://www bbc co uk/programmes/b006m9ry

KickSat-1 launch http://amsat-uk org/2014/04/18/successful-launch-of- kicksat-carrying-104-sprite-satellites/

British Interplanetary Society: Sprite Technical Summary http://www bis-space com/2013/03/09/9301/kicksat-technical-summary

UK radio amateur plans Lunar Pocket Spacecraft http://amsat- uk org/2013/08/26/uk-radio-hams-lunar-cubesat-to-go-ahead/

Pocket Spacecraft http://pocketspacecraft com/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships

Applications are now being accepted for 2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships The program awards scholarships focused on aeronautical research and related degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate sponsors the program

Undergraduate students with at least two years of study remaining will receive up to $15,000 per year for two years and the opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend by interning at a NASA research center during the summer Graduate students receive up to $46,000 per year for up to three years, with an opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend interning at a NASA research center for up to two consecutive summers Applicants must be citizens or nationals of the United States

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern nasa gov/ Applicants should be sure to select "scholarships" for the type of application

[ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message for May 15, 2014 for the above information]

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NASA History Program Office Fall 2014 Internships

The NASA History Program Office is seeking undergraduate and graduate students for fall 2014 internships The History Program Office maintains archival materials to answer research questions from NASA personnel, journalists, scholars, students at all levels and others from around the world The division also edits and publishes several books and monographs each year It maintains a large number of websites on NASA history

Students of all majors are welcome to apply While detailed prior knowledge of the aeronautics and space fields is not necessary, a keen interest and some basic familiarity with these topics are needed Strong research, writing and editing skills are essential Experience with social media is a plus

Intern projects are flexible Typical projects include handling a variety of information requests, writing posts for the NASA history twitter and Facebook pages, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, and identifying and captioning photos

Fall 2014 internship applications are due June 1, 2014

For more information, visit http://history nasa gov/interncall htm

If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Bill Barry at bill barry@nasa gov

[ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message for May 15, 2014]

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ARISS News

From 2014-05-12 to 2014-06-15, ARISS will be going into a period of no contacts as there will be no hams onboard

Do to increased work load beginning 2014-03-11, ARISS has had to move 3 schools back to our long term waiting list We hope to get to them in the fall of 2014 There are also several other schools that are on the list for possible postponement to the fall

[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information]

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

• Generate an Azimuth Map from Any Location

  Here is a cool tool to generate an azimuth map from any location: http://ns6t net/azimuth/azimuth html It includes an option to display grid squares on your map

• May 2014 MilsatMagazine Now Online http://www milsatmagazine com

• May 2104 Sat Magazine Now Online http://www satmagazine com

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Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information

73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org

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